Various devices are known for depositing seed in a paired row in which the rows are deposited spaced upwardly and laterally outwardly from opposing sides of a fertilizer row. Examples of paired row openers can be found in Canadian patent 2,326,468 by Dutch Blacksmith Shop Ltd. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,412 by Flexi-Coil Ltd. In each instance an opener body is supported on a cultivator shank upon which there is supported a knife at a front end of the opener body and a pair of rear wings extending outwardly from opposing sides of the opener body at the rear end. A fertilizer outlet is located at a bottom side of the opener body for depositing fertilizer in a primary furrow formed by the knife. A pair of seed outlets are formed behind the rear wings respectively for depositing the seed in a paired row in respective secondary furrows formed by the wings.
In each instance in the prior art the size of the opener body is minimized so as to attempt to minimize manufacturing cost as well as minimize the amount of soil disturbed when displacing the opener through the ground to form the furrow. As the height between the knife at the front end and the wings at the rear end is generally dictated by optimal placement of the seed rows relative to the fertilizer row, the resulting profile of the bottom side of the opener sloping upwardly and rearwardly from the knife to the wings where the fertilizer outlet is located is relatively consistent in all prior art devices. The resulting plane of the fertilizer outlet extends at an upward and rearward incline which tends to be closer to horizontal than vertical as dictated by the sloping direction of the opener body from the knife to the wings. In this orientation however the outlet tends to collect mud which is displaced in the wake of the knife forming the primary furrow so that under certain conditions, the mud has a high tendency of plugging the fertilizer outlet so that fertilizer is not adequately deposited in relation to the seed rows.